Randall Stephenson, Former AT&T Chief And Time Warner Dealmaker, Quits PGA Policy Board On Eve Of Senate Hearing On LIV Merger
Randall Stephenson, the former chairman and CEO of AT&T and architect of the telecom giant’s ill-fated acquisition of Time Warner, has resigned from the policy board of the Professional Golf Association at a critical moment.
On Tuesday morning, PGA officials and others are expected to testify before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which is chaired by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Among those the committee will question are Jimmy Dunne, the policy board member who helped broker the deal, and Ron Price, the PGA Tour’s chief operating officer.
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Stephenson, who had been a member of the influential policy board since 2012, stepped down from it over the weekend, with his sharply worded resignation letter reported by the Washington Post, The New York Times and others. The exec said he could not abide the deal brokered between the PGA and upstart rival LIV, which is funded by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. The merger deal was negotiated in secret and came as a shock when it was announced in June given the intensity of the animosity between the pro tours as well as the rhetoric from PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan. The proposed union came as a surprise even to many top PGA Tour players, notably Rory McElroy and others who had publicly assailed LIV.
“I have serious concerns with how this framework agreement came to fruition without board oversight,” Mr. Stephenson wrote, adding he cannot “objectively evaluate or, in good conscience support” it “particularly in light of the U.S. intelligence report concerning Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.” Khashoggi, a dissident and columnist for the Washington Post and other outlets, was killed inside a Saudi embassy in Turkey. U.S. intelligence officials have subsequently said it was a government-ordered killing. LIV’s Saudi DNA has also drawn vocal protests from families of 9/11 victims and their supporters, who hold Saudi Arabia responsible for the terror attacks.
The PGA said Stephenson would be replaced on the policy board by a person nominated by its four other independent directors. Five PGA players also serve on the policy board.
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